From the author of

Out of that high-tech, high pay job? Bummer! So how do you, as a technical
person, convince employers that they should hire you for positions they
haveand increase your pay to boot? The first step is to locate employers
seeking applicants for technical jobs for which you qualify. Advertised jobs
that seem to fit your exact qualifications may not match because the
advertisement has often been reviewed and rewritten by several people before
being published. The manager with the position may not be able to write an
advertisement that accurately describes the person who is the best candidate for
the job. This just means that you must apply for many, many positions in order
to find a match. Never get discouraged when job interview requests do not
magically appear, even after you respond to many job advertisements.

Typical Technical Resume Content

After locating employers that need applicants for jobs for which you qualify,
the next step in the process is to create and send an effective resume. The
problem with technical resumes is that they often contain too much information.
Many times, the information in the resume narrows the applicant's
capabilities so they do not fit the position that the prospective employer wants
to fill. A resume I recently received illustrates this. A section of the resume
appeared as follows:

SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES

Provide training (classroom or one-on-one environment), technical and
help-desk support, and production skills in the following:

What kind of problems has this applicant solved? What kind of problems can
this applicant solve? If I were to interview this candidate for a training
position, he or she would likely not be capable of teaching PC and
telecommunications technology seminars.

Following is a listing of the certifications from another resume:

CERTIFICATIONS:

Cisco Security Specialist 1

Cisco Certified Networking Associate

Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer on Windows NT 4.0

Microsoft Certified Professional plus Internet

TECHNICAL TRAINING:

Cisco Secure Pix Firewalls Advanced course

Cisco Secure Pix Firewalls Basic course

Managing Cisco Network Security course

Certified Information Systems Auditor review course

Symantec Intruder Alert intrusion detection system

course

3Com Netbuilder II Router course

Microsoft Exchange Server 5.0 course

Supporting Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 course

Administering Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 course

PROFESSIONAL EXAMS PASSED:

Cisco Intrusion Detection System and Policy Manager exam

Cisco Secure Virtual Private Network exam

Cisco Secure Pix Firewall Advanced exam

Managing Cisco Network Security exam

Microsoft Windows 2000 Accelerated exam

Microsoft Internet Information Server 3.0 exam

Networking Essentials exam

Microsoft TCP/IP on Windows NT 4.0 exam

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 in the Enterprise exam

Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 exam

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 exam

The certifications indicate that the candidate passed the certification
exams, but do they demonstrate the systems thinking needed to solve networking
problems? Not necessarily. The ability to solve network problems depends little
on the certification knowledge a candidate possesses and more on the ability to
look at a whole network picture while asking dumb questions. Certifications do
not convey this ability.

As an employer, I have reviewed hundreds of resumes that have listed gobs of
detail on a person's background. Further, certifications are growing by
leaps and bounds. There are certifications in almost every conceivable hardware
and software discipline. Employers are inundated with this information and have
little time to review it. Of course, they need to balance general information
with detailed information on specific technical knowledge and skills when
determining whether a candidate has the technical background for a specific job.
However, people are hired to solve problems. People are not hired to be skilled
at passing certification tests.

When it was fashionable to be a Novell CNE, I passed all the requisite CNE
tests within about two weeks and became one. Was I a better network support
person after I passed the tests? No. Could I solve network problems any better
after passing the tests? No. If I failed the tests, could I still solve network
problems better than someone who had passed the CNE tests? Yesbecause when
I started solving a network problem, I did not quit until it was solved. The
number one rule of troubleshooting is "I will win!", and passing
certifications tests doesn't change that attitude.

What is the correct technical background? A candidate should have just enough
technical knowledge to get started, blended with an extra large dose of
enthusiasm for the work so that the applicant solves the employer's
problem. Candidates should not be over-trained so they can't adapt to the
technical environment and systems that the employer has. Candidates must also be
enthusiastic and quick learners so they can quickly come up-to-speed and solve
technical problems for potential employers. Listing certifications and technical
capabilities does not do this.

So, the approach to creating an effective resume is to not list every piece
of software or every computer on which an applicant has worked, but to
demonstrate the ability to learn technologies and to use that knowledge to solve
technical problems. It is much better to stress general areas of technical
knowledge and demonstrated work accomplishments in those areas that illustrate
what an effective problem solver and employee the job applicant is.
Certifications should be provided as ancillary information.

Another important resume component can be a technical demonstration of the
skills and knowledge of the applicant. This should not be an overblown
demonstration, but rather a low-key demonstration of using technology to get a
job. It can also include a Web page reference that is easily searchable by
anyone for the detailed information omitted from the printed resume submitted.
An effective resume should be a multifaceted document that sells the
problem-solving accomplishments and skills of the job applicant.